Bloomberg ‐ December 21, 2012Housing Poised to Bolster U.S. Growth as Sales Rise…Sales of previously owned homes climbed to a three‐year high in November, reinforcing forecasts that the industry is set to contribute to U.S. annual economic growth for the first time since 2005. Purchases of existing houses increased 5.9% to a 5.04 million annual rate, the most since November 2009. “Housing is going from being a powerful headwind to the economy to what will be a powerful tailwind,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. “It turned around in 2012, and I think it’s going to take off in 2013.” Rising real estate values are helping to lift consumer confidence, which rose to an eight‐month high last week, according to the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index.

Realtor Mag ‐ December 21, 2012Are Young Adults Missing Out on Big Housing Opportunities?…With low mortgage rates and home values, some housing analysts are questioning why more first‐time buyers—particularly the younger generation—aren’t flooding to the market. As a recent Reuters article questions: Could they be missing out on the “sweet spot” of the housing marketing by delaying their home purchases? The desire to buy is certainly there. Ninety‐three percect of renters in the millennial generation say they plan to buy a home in the future. But the number of first‐time home buyers remains constrained. One in three home buyers are first‐timers, the article notes. Maybe that’s because some millennials— generally those now in their 20s to early 30s—don’t have the jobs that qualify them for mortgages, or because they are taking time to accumulate down payments or because the ongoing wave of foreclosures has frightened them. Whatever the case, they may still have some time to cash in, particularly as long as financing a home purchase remains so affordable. The Fed announced it is keeping interest rates low until the unemployment rates drops below 6.5% which is not expected to happen until 2015. Real estate professionals may be able to help the younger generation work toward their goal of home ownership in the meantime too.

Realtor Mag ‐ December 26, 2012More Buyers Feel the Urgency…Home buyers are feeling more confident that the housing market is in recovery mode and they’re realizing they better act soon if they want to take advantage of low mortgage rates and home prices before they rise more. Seventy percent of home buyers believe prices will rise in their neighborhood within the next year, according to a new survey of more than 1,000 home buyers.

The Seattle Times ‐ December 26, 2012
Seattle Area Sees in New Homes…After a long recession‐induced hiatus, Seattle‐area builders are starting to build houses again. It’s another facet of the local real estate market’s modest recovery in 2012. Sales volume is up. Prices have bounced back from last winter’s post‐bust lows. Experts generally anticipate more of the same for 2013. New‐home construction is on a pace this year for its best showing since 2007. Builders and analysts expect that surge, too, will continue into the new year.

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